Tape-applying device



March 26, 1957 E. K. BAUER TAPE-APPLYING DEVICE 2 Shets-Sheet 1 OrglginalFiled ebl 11, 1952 mmvmm ERNEST K. BAUER BY $04- 6% ATTO-RN March 26, 1957 E. K. BAUER TAPE-APPLYING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Feb. 11, 1952 n m m m fun TAPE-APPLYING DEVICE Ernest K. Bauer, Meadville, Pa, assiguor to American Viscose Corporation, Philadelphia, Pa a corporation of Delaware Original applications February '11, 1952, Serial No. 270,982, new Patent No. 2,725,613, dated December 6, 1955, and April 18, 1955, Serial No. 501,859, new Patent No. 2,756,481, dated July 31, 1956. ,Divided and this application November .29, 1955, Serial -No. 549,659

3 Claims. (Cl. 28-42) This invention relates to warp-beaming apparatus and, more particularly, to devices which are adapted to clamp and tension a warp of yarn and to thereby facilitate :the taping of its ends preliminary to the dofiing of a full beam.

This application is a division of my copending applications, Serial Numbers 270,982, filed February 11, 1952, now Patent No. 2,725,613, and 501,859, filed April 18, 1955, now Patent No. 2,756,481.

Upon completion of the winding operation in the preparation of a beam of yarn, it is necessary to provide a means for retaining the adjacent ends or yarns of the warp in their proper positional relationship when the threads are severed and packaged :for shipment. The common practice is to maintain the "strands of the warp in their proper relative position by applying a pair of adhesive strips to opposite sides of the warp and across the width thereof. In this way, when the warp is unwound from the beam at the customers mill, there is no difficulty in finding each of the numerous warp strands. This taping operation, however, has been in the past a relatively tedious manual operation wherein considerable diificulty has been experienced in properly and accurately applying the tape to the warp "to "thereby preserve its strand pattern.

It is a principal object of the present invention to provide novel and improved apparatus which facilitates the application of tape across the width of the warp.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description.

In general the present invention comprises -a clamping device which extends across the full width of the warp, means for braking the beamer, means for tensioning the warp between the clamping means and the beamer braking means, and a taping device which is adapted to be moved upwardly toward the tensioned portion of the warp to apply a strip of adhesive material thereto. It has been found that with such apparatus the tape-up op eration may be more readily and accurately performed.

in the drawing which is illustrative of the invention,

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic side view of a beamer in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary viewof the clamping device shown in Figure 1;

Figure 2a is a side view of the clamping device shown in Figure 2;

Figure 3 is an enlarged detail showing a preferred embodiment of the warp tensioning device of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a top view of the tensioning device of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is an enlarged detail showing a preferred embodiment of the taping device of Figure 1'; and

Figure 6 is a side view of the taping device of Figure '5.

As illustrated in Figure l of the drawing, the warp or yarn 3 proceeds from a source such as a plurality of packages on a creel 3a shown diagrammatically on the drawing, through the eyeboard 4, between "the normally open jaws of the clamping device 5, between the rollers of back-winding yarn-storage "device F6 (whenxsuch ;a do- I nited States Patent "0 vice is used) through the eyeboard 7, under the guide roller 8, 'ov'er the elongated rod 912 of the tensioning device 9, through the comb 10, above the tape-applying device 15, around the measuring roller 11, and finally about the beamer 12.

The clamping device 5 is shown in greater detail in Figures 2 and 2a of the drawing. As illustrated therein the elongated transverse supporting plate 14 extends beneath and transverse to the path of the strands of warp '3 and may be mounted on the frame of the machine in any convenient manner. The elongated stationary clamp bar 16 is secured by the 'cap screws '17 'to the upper surface of plate "14. The "guide members 18 and 19 are also secured, preferably by welding as shown at 20 in the drawing, to the upper surface of plate 14, and extend upwardly from opposite end portions thereof. Each guide member includes an elongated slot 21 which extends downwardly substantially the full length thereof and is thereby adapted to slidably accommodate the moveabl'e clamp 'ba'r'22 as will be more fully described hereinafter. Journal members 23 are secured to the underside of the supporting plate 114 preferably by the cap screws 24 and'extend downwardly therefrom. Apertures 25 which pass through the lower extremities of the journal members 23 are adapted to rotatably receive the operating shaft '26. Collar members 26:: are affixed to the shaft by 'inea'ns of the set screws 26b and are positioned'thereon adjacent each of -the journal members .23 to restrict longitudinal movement of the shaft. A hand wheel "27 is secured to one or both extremities of the shaft by the set screw 28 and thereby provides a convenient means for rotating the shaft. Connector links 29 are pivot'ally secured at one end to the periphery of the hand wheels 27 by thep ins 29a and at the other end to the extremity of the moveable clamp bar 22. The nuts 30 threadedly engage complementarily threaded end portions of the movable clamp bar to confine the links between the nuts and the shoulders 31 on the movable clamp. In this way, when either hand wheel is operated, the links '29 cause the movable clamp to move in the guide member slots toward or away from the stationary clamp "bar thereby permitting the strands of the warp to be clamped therebetween.

As "shown in Figure '2 of the drawing, the clamping device is preferably designed such that when the device is in its normally open position thepivot pins 29a whereby the links 29 are fastened to the periphery of their associated hand wheels '27 are located beyond the vertical centerline between the axes of the shaft 26 and the movable clamp 22. In this way the protrusion 29b of link 29 rests against the stop'29c to conveniently maintain the device in its open position until thehand wheelis rotated in a counterclockwise direction. 7

Cam 32 is suitably secured to the movable clamp bar 22 and extends outwardly and downwardly "therefrom so that when the clamp bar is moved to its lowermost position the cam member contacts and 'closes the limit switch 33.

As shown in Figure 1, the limit switch 33 is inserted in series with the beamer brake-operating solenoid '34 and an electrical energy source 34a shown diagrammatically on the drawing such, that when the switch is actuated, the circuit for energizing the solenoid is closed and the brake shoe 35 is operated through the linkage 36 to frictionally contact the drivingmechanism 37 for the beamer. 'Thus, when the clamping device is actuated so as to iclamping ly engage "the strands of the warp, the beaming device is simultaneously braked.

The back-winding storage device 6 shown diagrammatically in Figure 1 of the drawing may take a variety of difierent forms or maybe'omitted if desired. Therefore, .a .fulldescription thereofis omitted for the sake of simplicity as it forms no part of the present invention. For further details of suitable apparatus for this purpose, reference may be had to the Bauer et al. U. S. Patent No. 2,558,033.

The warp-tensioning device 9 is shown in detail in Figures 3 and 4 of the drawing. As illustrated therein the support means for the tensioning device which includes an elongated shaft 38 and which extends beneath and transverse to the path of the Warp strands may be affixed to the frame of the machine in any suitable manner. A pair of L-shaped side plates 39 are adapted to be secured adjacent each end of the elongated shaft in any convenient manner such as by the clamp members 40 shown in Figure 3 wherein the extremity of the vertical leg of each of the L-shaped side plates 39 and the clamp members 40 frictionally contact the shaft 33 when the associated cap screws 41 are tightened.

The operating shaft 4270f the tensioning device extends through an aperture 43 adjacent the apex of the L-shaped plates. Collar members 44 are afiixed to the shaft 42 by means of the set screws 45 and are positioned thereon adjacent the inner surface of each pair of side plates so as to restrict the longitudinal movement of the shaft 42. Hand wheel 46 may be secured to either extremity of the shaft 42 by any convenient means such as by the set screw 47 shown in Figure 4 of the drawing. Between each pair of side plates 39, a cam member 48 is eccentrically mounted on the shaft by the set screws 49. A pivot pin 41a extends between each pair of side plates 39 and rotatably supports the actuating lever 480 which is actuated when the hand wheel 46 and the cam member 48 are rotated. The pins 41b which also extend between each pair of side plates provide means for limiting the counterclockwise movement of the associ ated lever 48a.

The plunger housing member 50 is positioned and afiixed between the upper portions of each pair of side plates and provides greater rigidity to the structure. A bore 50a and an aperture 50b in each housing 50 are disposed generally parallel to and equidistant from the abutting surfaces of the adjacent associated side plates. Each plunger member 54 includes a head portion 54:: which slides freely in the corresponding bore 50a and a shank portion 54b which extends through the corresponding aperture 50b. Each of the plungers 54 is provided with a biasing coil spring 51 which is positioned about the shank of the plunger between the head portion thereof and the base of the bore 50a.

The outer portion of the shank 54b includes an aperture which extends generally transversely to the axis thereof and is adapted to receive the tensioning bar 9a. The set screws 53 provide a means for fixedly securing each plunger to the bar 9a. The head portion 54:: of the plunger is adapted to be contacted by the lever 41 when the hand wheel 46 is rotated as will'be more fully described hereinafter.

Thus it is seen that, when the hand wheel 46 and the operating shaft 42 are rotated, the cam members 43 are likewise rotated, the levers 48a are pivoted about their respective pivot pins 44}, the plunger 54 is actuated against the bias of the coil spring 51 and the tensioning bar 9a is moved upwardly to engage and tension the various strands of the warp.

The tape-applying device is shown in detail in Figures and 6 of the drawing. As illustrated therein the plate 55 extends beneath and transverse to the path of the warp strands and may be mounted on the frame of the machine in any convenient manner. The bearing members 56 are secured to the upper surface of the plate 55 and are adapted to slidably receive the elongated operating shaft 57. Any suitable means, such as a spline connection between the shaft 57 and the bearing members 56, may be provided to prevent the shaft 57 from rotating as it is moved slidably relative to the bearing members.

The collar members 58 are secured to the shaft adjacent its extremities to limit the longitudinal movement thereof. Cam members 59 are also afiixed to the shaft in any convenient manner such as by the sleeves 60 and the set screws 61. The knob 62 may be secured to either end of the shaft 57 as shown to facilitate the movement thereof. The elongated tape-supporting table 64 is positioned generally parallel to the major axis of the plate 5 between the same and the strands of the warp. Guide pins 63 are suitably secured as by welding to the underside of the table 64 and extend downwardly therefrom. The pins are preferably enlarged as at 65 adjacent their juncture with the table 64 to provide added rigidity thereto. The pins 63 extend through the apertures 66 and the bosses 67 on the plate 55 and are internally threaded at their extremities to receive the machine screws 68 and the associated washer 69. Coil springs 74) surround the pins 63 between the bottom surface of the plate 55 and the associated washer 69 to normally bias the table toward its lowermost position. The pin mem bers 71 are also secured as by welding to the underside of the table 64 and extend downwardly therefrom. These pins are also preferably enlarged adjacent the juncture of the table to provide added rigidity thereto. The pin member 71 and the earns 59 are suitably positioned so that they cooperate when the operating shaft 57 is actuated to lift the table 64 against the biasing springs 76. In this way a strip of adhesive material which has been placed on the table with its adhesive side up may be conveniently applied to the underside of the strands of the warp.

In describing the operation of the tape-up machine in greater detail, it will be assumed that the beamer 12 has been fully wound. The operator, first, rotates the hand wheel 27 of the clamping device 9 and thereby causes the movable clamp bar 22 to move downwardly toward the stationary cla-mp bar 16 to firmly engage the strands of the warp therebetween. Simultaneously the cam 32 actuates the limit switch 33 and the solenoid 34 is energized to hold the beam 12. Thus, the strands of the warp are firmly anchored on either side of the tensioning and taping devices. Next, the operator rotates the hand Wheel 46 of the tensioning device thereby causing the cam member 48 to actuate the lever 41 and the plunger 54 and to move the tensioning bar 9a upwardly against the strands of the warp. In this way slack in any of the warp strands between the clamping device and the beamer is eliminated and the spacing between individual strands which is determined by the eyeboards 4 and 7 and the comb 10 is accurately maintained. Next, the operator pulls the knob 62 of the taping device 15 thereby causing the cam members 59 to contact the pins 71, the table 64 to move upwardly and the strip of adhesive to be applied to the underside of the warp strands. Next, a second strip of tape with its adhesive face down is manually applied to the upper surface of the warp strands adjacent the previously applied strip of tape by means of a roller or the like. Thus, the table 64 also provides a convenient rigid support for the application of the second strip of tape. Finally the strands of the warp may be severed between the taped portion thereof and the clamping device, the full beam may be replaced by an empty one, and severed strands of the warp properly wrapped thereabout before the clamping device 5 is relaxed. The winding, taping, and-rem0val of successive beams may then be similarly repeated.

While preferred embodiments of the invention have been disclosed, the description is intended to be illustrative only and it is to be understood that changes and variations may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

- I claim:

1.v In warp-beamingapparatus a beam, a source of warp' yarn for winding onto said beam, a tape-applying device comprising a supporting plate extending beneath and transverse to the warp of yarn, bearing members secured to the upper surface of the supporting plate, an operating shaft slidably received in the bearing members and extending in parallelism with the supporting plate, cam members secured to the operating shaft and extending upwardly therefrom, a tape supporting table, guide pins secured to said table and extending downwardly therefrom through apertures in said plate, other pins secured to the bottom of the table and extending downwardly therefrom and adapted to be engaged by the cam members on movement of the operating shaft.

2. In warp-beaming apparatus a beam, a source of warp yarn for winding onto said beam, a tape-applying device comprising a supporting plate extending beneath and transverse to the warp of yarn, bearing members secured to the upper surface of the supporting plate, an operating shaft slidably received in the bearing members and extending in parallelism with the supporting plate, cam members secured to the operating shaft and extending upwardly therefrom, a tape supporting table, guide pins secured to said table and extending downwardly therefrom through apertures in said plate, other pins secured to the bottom of the table and extending downwardly therefrom and adapted to be engaged by the cam members on move ment of the operating shaft, and means for biasing the table toward its lowermost position.

3. In warp-beaming apparatus a beam, a source of warp yarn for winding onto said beam, a tape-applying device comprising a supporting plate extending beneath and transverse to the Warp of yarn, a tape-supporting table disposed above and substantially parallel to said supporting plate, means extending between said table and said supporting plate, said means adapted to guide said table for movement toward and away from said supporting plate, and means operatively connected to said supporting plate and tape-supporting table for selectively moving said table away from said supporting plate and into engagement with the warp of yarn.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

